Posted on 04/12/2014 11:09:47 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
BUNKERVILLE (KSNV MyNews3.com) -- The gathering of rancher Cliven Bundy's cattle in northeast Clark County has been stopped by the director of the Bureau of Land Management.
The BLM announcement came as Bundy was meeting with Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie about the week-long dispute.
The BLM had been using contract cowboys to round up Bundy's 900 head of cattle that have been grazing over 600,000 square acres in northeast Clark County for more than 20 years without his payment of grazing fees.
As of Friday they had secure 389 cattle from the Gold Butte area, nearly 90 percent of them marked with the Bundy Ranch brand.
New BLM Director Neil Kornze made the following statement this morning:
"As we have said from the beginning of the gather to remove illegal cattle from federal land consistent with court orders, a safe and peaceful operation is our number one priority. After one week, we have made progress in enforcing two recent court orders to remove the trespass cattle from public lands that belong to all Americans.
"Based on information about conditions on the ground, and in consultation with law enforcement, we have made a decision to conclude the cattle gather because of our serious concern about the safety of employees and members of the public.
"We ask that all parties in the area remain peaceful and law-abiding as the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service work to end the operation in an orderly manner.
Ranching has always been an important part of our nation’s heritage and continues throughout the West on public lands that belong to all Americans. This is a matter of fairness and equity, and we remain disappointed that Cliven Bundy continues to not comply with the same laws that 16,000 public lands ranchers do every year. After 20 years and multiple court orders to remove the trespass cattle, Mr. Bundy owes the American taxpayers in excess of $1 million. The BLM will continue to work to resolve the matter administratively and judicially."
Gov. Brian Sandoval reacted to the BLM decision with a statement.
"The safety of all individuals involved in this matter has been my highest priority," the email said. "Given the circumstances, today's outcome is the best we could have hoped for. I appreciate that the Department of the Interior and the BLM were willing to listen to the concerns of the people of Nevada."
Under Nevada law the desert tortoise, since it was on the endangered species list, came under protected status IN NEVADA as early as 1991 and probably back to 1987, as I already noted. Available statuses for all reptiles were: game, unprotected, protected AND they had to be in one of the classifications.
I had already double checked.
Well we all know this is not about the desert tortoise and its not about grazing fees. Its about a man who finally got fed up with being pushed around by an overbearing and out of control US govt. He is doing the unthinkable and the totally unacceptable thing of pushing back.
Unless you have personally experienced the full intimidation of the US govt you have no idea how much courage it takes to face them down.
Agreed. The Bundy Standoff at BunkerVille was not about the tortoise or the fees. However, some blame Bundy for not paying those fees to the Fed, and that he stopped paying the fees to the Fed before the tortoise became an issue.
I discovered that the tortoise was an issue before he stopped paying the Fed and that year-to-year new requirements did fit his narrative of the Fed trying to drive him out of business.
All of that said, I think that the Fed considering itself the “owner” of 80%+ of Nevada is constitutionally obscene. It’s obscene because there is no constitutional provision for such ownership by the Fed, because the constitutional allows the Fed to dispose of what it owns, and because on becoming a state, Nevada became a full and equal sovereign state with all others, and all territorial claims of the Federal government changed.
Yes Mr. Bundy finally got sick of the govt games and watching the rules change capriciously til all of his neighbors were driven out of business over the years. He said he got sick of paying range fees which were supposed to go toward keeping the rangeland up but then having to pay to do it himself. He has an argument I can sympathize with.
Honestly they have done the same thing with the mortgage business. They finally drove me out in 2010. It just got to be one more piece of paper, one more education seminar for $400, one more license fee, etc etc til they just wear you out. Its the plan. They are doing it to many industries. The progressive govt wants small business gone. Period.
We all love to eat beef and for the life of me I don’t understnad anyone who would not want to let the small ranchers graze their cattle on public land that has no other use. None of them should have to pay range fees. It would keep the price of beef down. But thats not the plan.
My brother also had an extremely solid mortgage business that was driven out of business by the Fed. And you’re right, it is the same thing.
A major factor in beef prices is the price of corn and the government requirement that so much of the annual crop be used to produce gasohol.
Whether a farmer finishes his cattle on corn or has them on corn plus pasturage their entire lives, anything increasing the farmers’ prices either makes the price higher at the market OR the farmer doesn’t raise as many cattle...also raising the price at the market.
The ONLY thing that will lower the price is more than sufficient supply, so YOU are right on the money. Let the cattle feed on otherwise unused land.
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